Tough Love in D Minor
by guardchicky
Summary: When Ichigo gets transfered to the elite Karakura Academy, he finds himself drawn to the pianist prodigy, Rukia Kuchiki. The sound of her music draws him in, but their differences divide them. Will music bring their love closer or die w/ the notes?
1. First Day

**AUTHOR'S NOTE : A IchiRuki fanfic. Basically a love story taking place at and general ed and music academy where the two types of students rarely interact. The idea of this came from a random thought of Ichigo actually becoming interested in classical or any kind of piano music when he falls for Rukia who's like a music prodigy. Hopefully it's good.**

**DISCLAIMER : I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. They belong to Tite Kubo.**

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Tough Love in D Minor

Chapter 1 - First Day

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"Karakura Academy ..."

Ichigo frowned as he stood outside the iron gates that surrounded the large 5 story building. Karakura Academy was a famous school known across the country as a music school that taught the rich and made stars out of people who went there. Well most people anyways. Half of the school consisted of people who were just there to get an education. They were commonly known as the general ed students, and in just a few minutes, Ichigo Kurosaki would be joining them.

He grunted as he loosened the green and black tie of his uniform as he followed some people through the wrought iron gate. Ichigo looked around at the laughing and talkative people that lingered around the large courtyard infront of the school. The music students were easily decifered through the crowd of general ed kids. Unlike the general ed's gray pants and skirts, they had black ones and wore a red ribbon or red and black tie rather then the plain green or striped green ones.

That wasn't the only thing that split the group in two. The music class students usually carried out instruments or a music folder. Many were sitting outside practicing before heading to class, or were walking proudly with their heads held high. The rest seemed less punctual and elite as they walked around slumped and had that style of dressing that were similar to the way his friends dressed.

Ichigo shook his head as he made his way quickly towards the door. The loudness of the crowd was giving him a headache, and he just wanted to fall asleep in his first class.

He looked at the folded sheet of paper in hand and examined it quickly. His first class was homeroom and it was just around the corner. "Room 103." he muttered silently to himself as he pushed open the door roughly to find most of the class already there and the teacher watching him with cold eyes.

"Yer late." he said roughly. He had spikey black hair with a scar over one of his eyes as if he had gotten into a gang fight in earlier years. He wore plain black pants, and his white shirt was untucked.

"Class doesn't start until five more minutes." Ichigo pointed towards the clock with his thumb. "I'm not late."

"My class starts ten minutes before the actual start of the day." he growled. "If yer in my class then yer late. Name's Zaraki ... Remember it ... Fear it." Ichigo sneered. "Ichigo Kurosaki." Zaraki smirked. "Oh so yer the new guy the old geezer's been talking 'bout. Go sit yer ass down in that chair next to Abarai over there." He pointed towards a red headed boy with his hair up and had a lot of tattoos all over his body. He wore a white bandana, and had dark eyes that seemed cold.

Ichigo nodded and began walking towards his seat. As he did so, he noted that most of the class consisted of rather tough looking people. One guy was bald, and had a wooden sword sitting next to his desk, and another had a 69 tattoo on his cheek. 'Weird bunch we have here' he thought and slid into the chair.

The red head propped his head up onto his palm and looked at him with cold eyes. "Ichigo, eh? Name's Renji." Ichigo nodded. "Hey." Renji looked at him and grinned. "Let me guess. Your folks thought that you'd been in enough fights and thought that this place could help fix that problem?"

He frowned. "How'd you know?" Ichigo asked.

Renji shrugged. "That's basically the story for mostly everyone in this room." He scratched the back of head and stifled a yawn. Ichigo grinned. "Then I guess I'm not the only with a problem."

He smiled and nodded. "I guess not. Let's just say that you're not alone in this one." Ichigo nodded. This Renji guy would probably be someone to stick around with.

"Abarai! Kurosaki!" Their heads snapped to the front as a very disgruntle Zaraki glared at them. "Enough of yer chit chat. The old geezer wants me to whoop you guys into shape and that's what I plan on doing." An evil grin appeared on his face as he began ranting on about how he planned on using every hard method he knew on them until the principal was happy with his job.

Renji chuckled and smirked at Ichigo. "Welcome to your first day of hell, Ichigo Kurosaki."

.x.

The rest of the day seemed to ease right through quickly with the help of Ichigo's new found buds. In about every single class, he had atleast two of Renji's gang friends in it to keep him awake and entertained. It seemed to help a lot with the fact that Renji was there to teach him the rules of what he should and shouldn't do with the group.

Around lunch period, Ichigo, Renji, Shuuhei, Ikkaku, and Tatsuki sat around on the wall of the courtyard.

"Did you see Ise's face when you made that comment about her and Kyoraku?! It was fuckin' hilarious." Ikkaku laughed as he slapped Shuuhei on the back. Shuuhei beamed slighlty as he chugged down his drink. "Yeah. It was funny. It looked as though someone went up to her and slapped her in the face." Ichigo commented as he looked up at the sky. "So what's up with Zaraki?" he questioned. "Is he like ... crazy or something?"

Renji snickered. "He's kind of on the crazy side, but trust me. He'll be your favorite teacher here by the end of the week." Ichigo looked flabbergasted. "Seriously?" Shuuhei and the others nodded. Tatsuki grinned. "He doesn't give a damn if we get into a fight. He'll either sit there and enjoy the show or join in." He smiled. "He sounds pretty cool."

They all laughed and began another random conversation about the roughest fight they've ever been in. As they laughed and talked, the sound of music came filling through the air and seemed to drift around him. Ichigo looked around as the sound rang through his ears. His eyes ran across every music student in the courtyard but none of them were the source of the peaceful sound that surrounded them. "Where's that coming from?" he frowned.

Ikkaku looked at him and rolled his eyes. "Probably from one of the practice rooms. Those music snobs are always practicing that classical crap." He pointed towards one of the open windows. "Probably from that room."

Ichigo nodded and stood up. "I'm going to go on and head to the next class." he said as he turned towards the school. "We'll see ya then." Renji called as he watched amused as Tatsuki and Shuuhei argued over which gang was better.

.x.

Ichigo wandered through the upper levels of the building. Those floors consisted of music classrooms and practice rooms. The sounds of some instruments pierced through the cracks of some of the rooms as he passed. His eyes went through the glass windows on the doors. In one classroom a white haired boy sat with a guitar, and a girl with a bun sang into a microphone. He looked to the other room to find a blonde guy playing a cello in it. Apparently the music kids didn't do much besides practicing.

He continued down the long hall in attempt to figure out who was playing the melody he heard outside. The tune was strangely familiar but he couldn't remember where he heard it. Ichigo paused outside one of the doors as the tune began once more. The door to one of the rooms was left half open and a raven haired girl sat by the white grand piano. He stood in the doorway as he watched the girl concentrate on the music in front of her, and her fingers raced across the keys.

As the piece progressed and her concentration increased, he took a step forwards. His foot came into contact with one of the stands that held several music textbooks and some sheets of music causing it to fall over. The stand slammed into the ground with a loud clang sending its contents across the floor. The girl paused abruptly as she turned her head to look at the intruder. "What are you doing in here?!" she snapped as she stood up and made her way towards the mess.

"I just-" he stopped and bent down to help her pick up the mess he made. "I heard you playing." he said quickly.

The girl paused and stared at him. "I know ... I suck at this piece." He shook his head. "It didn't suck. It actually sounded really good." She smiled. "Really?" he nodded. "Yeah. I mean I'm not really into that kind of stuff but it was good. What's it called?" he asked as he placed her stuff back onto the stand.

She stood up and looked up at him. Apparently she wasn't very tall. Maybe only five feet tall perhaps. And she was very petite. "Thanks." she smiled softly and nodded. "It's Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu Op. 66 Number 4."

He frowned. "I've never heard of Chopin. Is he famous?" She rolled her eyes. "In the classical music world, yes. But in your world, no." she walked back over towards the piano and flipped through the pages to the front. Ichigo flushed slightly as he looked away. "Who are you anyways? You're not a music student." she noted his uniform. "Ichigo Kurosaki. And what about you?" he looked down at her. "Rukia Kuchiki."

His eyes widened to saucers as she said her name. "Kuchiki?! Are Byakuya Kuchiki's daughter?! I mean he's like one of the richest men in Japan!" She laughed. "Hah. I'm his younger sister. He's not old enough to be my father. Shouldn't you be heading off to class? It starts soon." Ichigo grinned as he walked over towards the piano. "Hey ... Could you do me a favor before I go?" he asked.

Rukia looked up at him. "What?" she frowned. "Play that song again for me." She looked down at the keys and nodded. "Okay."

Ichigo watched as she inhaled before she started the piece once more. The notes rang out one by one as her tiny fingers pressed the keys. For once in many years, he felt as though he was at peace in his chaotic life. The piece ended soon and she looked back up. "Now get out of my practice room." she said roughly. He frowned. "That's no way to talk to someone who helped you clean up the mess, runt." Rukia rolled her eyes. "You're the one who made the mess in the first place. Now leave."

.x.

That night he kept hearing Chopin's song play through his mind as images of the raven haired midget ran through his head. "Rukia Kuchiki ..." he muttered. "I can't believe she blames that on me." he frowned as he shook his head. "This first day was the weirdest ..."

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**And that concludes the first chapter to Tough Love in D Minor. If you're wondering what Chopin's Fantasie Impromtu sounds like, go ahead and search it up on youtube or veoh and listen to its. You might have heard before if you've listened to any kind of classical in awhile. It's quite famous and its a beautiful sounding piece. It'll show up a couple times in the story, and may play an important role. I'm still deciding.**

**I hope you enjoy the first chapter, and please review. I really LOVE reviews. Favorite or something. It makes me happy. XD**

**I'll update as soon as I can.**


	2. The Welcome Back Assembly

**AUTHOR'S NOTE : Thank you for reading the first chapter of the story, and here's the second one. I'm trying to make it interesting. My brain was running out of fuel while I was writing this so my ideas left me.**

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Tough Love in D Minor

Chapter 2 - The Welcome Back Assembly

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"Yo, Ichigo!"

Renji's loud voice filled the air as Ichigo was walking. He turned and smirked. "Renji. Ikkaku. Tatsuki. Shuuhei." he greeted the gang as they approached him. Tatsuki yawned as she waved. "Hey." she mumbled. He grinned at the others as they made their way through the crowd.

They laughed as they talked about what they planned on doing in class today, and the look on Zaraki's face when he sees what they have planned. Ichigo chuckled and bumped into someone accidentally. "Sorry." he said quickly and glanced to his side. He spotted the same raven haired girl from yesterday and his face brightened. "Oh, it's you Rukia. Hey." Rukia looked up at him and smiled. "Ichigo. How are you?"

He shrugged. "I'm okay I guess." He looked over at the small group of people she was with. It was the same white haired boy standing besides her. Amazingly, he was shorter than her. "Um, who's the white haired kid?" he questioned. The boy looked up at him. "Hitsugaya Toshiro, and I'm no kid."

Ichigo nodded. "Um, and she is?" he pointed at the small girl behind him. She was the one that was with him in the practice room the other day. "Eep!" she squealed slightly and hid behind Hitsugaya. At this Hitsugaya glared at him. "Hinamori Momo." the girl replied softly. Ichigo paled slightly and smiled. "Hello." Hinamori nodded slightly as she stayed hidden behind him. Rukia laughed. "She's a bit on the shy side." she explained as she looked at the group of people behind.

"Renji?"

Renji looked over at the girl and waved slightly. "Yo, Rukia. How's it going?" he greeted her and walked over. She smiled. "It's going well, I guess." she paused. "Still getting into trouble are you?" He chuckled. "You know me well, Rukia."

Ichigo frowned. "You know her, Renji?" He nodded. "Yeah. I've known her since we were kids." Rukia nodded in agreement as the warning bell rang out. "Oh crap." Hitsugaya sighed. "We'd better hurry, Kuchiki." he said as he and Hinamori made their way quickly towards the door. They disappeared into the crowd of people. Only his guitar case was visible in the crowd.

Rukia frowned. "Okay. I guess I'll be going too." She waved at them. "I'll see you guys at the welcome back assembly during homeroom."

He watched as she squeezed herself through the crowd and into the building. Renji slung his arm over his shoulder. "What are you thinking about, Ichigo?" he frowned. "Don't try anything with her." he warned. Ichigo growled. "Isn't that her choice?" he snapped. Renji shook his head. "Not in her situation. Do you honestly think that her brother let punks like us be with her?" He frowned and shook his head. "I didn't think so. Let's go." he said as he dragged Ichigo towards the building.

When they entered the room, they were prepared for the upcoming lecture from Zaraki. "Hisagi, Madarame, Abarai, Arisawa, Kurosaki!" Zaraki growled as he spun around in his chair to face him. "Yer late!" he scoffed as he shook his head. "Will you people ever learn?"

"Nope." Ikkaku sneered. Zaraki glared at him. "Shut that mouth of yers, Madarame." he ordered and Ikkaku silenced.

"Yeah, Baldy!" Ichigo frowned as he looked down at the mass of pink that was standing in front of them. "Who the hell are you?" he frowned. Renji nudged him to shut up. The girl smiled. "I'm Kusajishi Yachiru!" she grinned. Ichigo shook his head. "Shouldn't you be over in the local daycare down the street?"

Shuuhei slapped himself on the forehead. "Ichigo ... Yachiru is practical the class pet. And she's Zaraki's adopted daughter." He explained quickly as the little girl giggled. "69er's right!" Yachiru smiled as she jumped back onto Zaraki's shoulder. "Ken-chan is the greatest." Ichigo gaped slightly as he watched. "Um ... Okay." he pulled Renji's arm as they made their way back towards their seats.

Zaraki scowled slightly. "No point in sitting in yer seats." he ordered and they stopped. "There's an assembly going on soon. Might as well haul yer asses out of this room and down towards the damn auditorium." Ichigo and the gang rolled their eyes as they pushed their way through the door and followed the herd of people towards the auditorium. "What's this welcome back assembly anyways?" he questioned Renji as they filed towards the middle of the room.

Renji scoffed as they sat down. "The welcome back assembly thing is like a little pep talk from the old geezer and then the music students put on a little performance after some general eds do their thing." he chuckled. "I think you'd enjoy the general ed part." Tatsuki laughed. "Yeah. It's so fuckin' funny."

"Really?" he smirked as he leaned back in the chair. Soon after everyone was seated, the principal, Mr. Yamamoto, and the vice principal, Mr. Sasakibe, walked onto the podium. Yamamoto cleared his throat as he looked at the students through his bushy eyebrows. "Greetings, young ones." he coughed. "You all know the drill. You come back from vacation, but you still have work to do." The lecture went on for about an hour. Ichigo and the rest of the students were half asleep by the time they were done. Renji nudged him hard. "Hey. It's time for the good part." he smirked.

Ichigo rubbed his eyes as he looked up at the stage where three general ed students stood. "Yo." The guy in the middle with hair color like Shuuhei's greeted as he looked out into the crowd. The one on his left wore sunglasses and only grunted as a response. The last was a rather large and fat guy. He merely crunched on the bags of chips in his large hand. The guy in the middle started again. "We're hear to explain what we've learned in the general ed classes." He said boredly.

"This is supposed to be interesting?" Ichigo scoffed as he watched the guy go on and on about classes. Renji snickered. "It'll get better. Watch." He nodded boredly as the three continued the conversation. "Now even though I have the best grade," the middle snickered, "Iba and Omeada here are somewhat smart."

The one with sunglasses frowned. "Watch what you're saying Kaien!"

The fatty nodded. "Yeah. Iba and I are not stupid."

Kaien rolled his eyes. "Says the fatso eating crisps."

Omeada twitched as he raised a fist. "Why I oughta -" Before he could finish, Iba slammed his fist into Kaien's face. "What the fuck?!" Kaien cursed and stumbled backwards. He growled and swung his leg at him. Iba smirked and pulled Omeada in front of him. Kaien's leg slammed into Omeada. "Oomph!" he grunted and glared at Iba. "You bastard!" His fist collided with Iba's glasses causing them to crack.

Ichigo watched amused as the three exchanged punches and profanities. "You're right. It is fuckin' hilarious." he chuckled. Renji and the gang were hunched over chuckling loudly when Zaraki and some of the other teachers drag the still fighting three off of the stage. The old geezer walked back up at and coughed nervously. "Now that that's over ... Let's introduce the first performance from Hinamori Momo and Hitsugaya Toshiro."

The music students clapped and the general eds hooted slightly. Hitsugaya walked over towards the piano and sat down. He nodded to Hinamori who positioned herself my the microphone. "Um ..." she started nervously. "Hitsugaya-kun and I will be singing Vivo Per Lei, originally sung by Andrea Bocelli and Laura Pausini." she said quietly into the microphone. She gulped as she looked into the crowded auditorium.

Hinamori glanced back at Hitsugaya and he gave the nod as he began playing. He cleared his throat and moved his mouth to the microphone.

_"Vivo per lei da quando sai  
La prima volta l'ho incontrata  
Non mi ricordo come ma  
Mi e entrata dentro e c'e restata  
Vivo per lei perche mi fa  
Vibrare forte I'anima  
Vivo per lei e non e un peso."_

Hinamori smiled and began her part of the song. Her voice came out beautifully and softly.

_"Ich lebe fuer sie - genau wie du,  
Leben waer ohne sie kein Leben.  
Sie ist in mir, was ich auch tu,  
Sie gibt mir Halt und laesst mich schweben,  
Sie hilft mir alles zu verzeihn.  
Wuerde mich nicht ihr Trost befrein ,  
Waere die Welt ein Irrtum -  
Ich lebe fuer sie"_

Hitsugaya looked at her and smiled as he began once again. Soon they began taking turns between lines of lyrics.

_"E una musa che ci invita"_  
_"In ihr finde ich mich wider"__  
"Attraverso und pianoforte la morte  
E lonana, io vivo per lei"_

_"Ich leb fuer sie -  
in Glueck und Schmerk  
wird sie zu meiner Kathedrale.  
Manchmal erschuettert sie mein Herz_

_E un pugno che non fa mai male_

_Vivo per lei lo so mi fa  
Girare in cita in cita  
Soffrire un po' ma almeno io vivo_

_Manchmal ruehrt sie mich zu Traenen  
Vivo per lei dentro gli hotels_

_Durch ein unbestimmtes Sehnen  
Vivo per lei nel vortice_

_Attraverso la mia voce  
Si espande e amore produce_

_Vivo per lei nient'altro ho  
E quanti altri incontrero  
Che come me hanno scritto in viso  
io vivo per lei_

_io vivo per lei_

_Sopra un palco o contro ad un muro  
Sie sagt. was ich nicht sagen kann  
Anche in un domani duro  
Zuendet in mir Gefuehle an_

_Ogni giorno  
Una conquista  
La protagonista  
Sara sempre lei_

_Vivo per lei perche oramai  
lo non ho altra via d'uscita  
Perche la musica lo sai  
Davvero non I'ho mai tradita  
Ich lebe fuer sie - Fuer die Musik  
Ich lebe fuer jeden Augenblick  
Gibt es auch schwere Stunden  
Ich lebe  
Ich lebe fuer sie_

_Vivo per lei la musica  
Ich lebe fuer sie  
Vivo per lei la unica  
Ich lebe fuer Sie_

_Io vivo per lei"_

The song ended and a loud applause from the music students and some general ed students echoed through the auditorium. "Thank you very much." Hitsugaya said into the microphone before taking her hand and leading her off the stage. Ichigo nodded approvingly. "They sounded pretty good." Ikkaku scoffed. "I guess they'd be good if I liked that kind of junk."

Yamamoto coughed and nodded. "Beautiful. Exceptionally beautiful. Now ..." he looked to the side of the stage where Rukia stood waiting. "We have Kuchiki Rukia playing a classical song on the piano." He walked off the stage as the small girl walked towards the piano.

"Go Rukia!" Renji shouted as he waved at her.

She smiled at Renji and spotted Ichigo besides him. She waved at them and sat down. Rukia's eyes scanned the keys as she placed her index finger on middle C. "Hello everyone." she smiled at the group. "I'll be playing Beethoven's Fur Elise today." she said and began quickly.

Ichigo watched in awe as the raven haired midget played the well known classical song. "She plays it so ... beautifully." he commented as he was hypnotized by the sound of Beethoven. Renji smirked. "Amazing isn't? It's a shame though ..." he frowned as he looked sadly at childhood friend. "What's a shame?" he frowned.

"She's going blind ..."

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**This chapter took me awhile to write. It's not that interesting but it brings forward one of the major conflicts of the story. Please review. I really do appreciate reviews. I hope you all enjoy.**


	3. Rain

**AUTHOR'S NOTE : Sorry for the wait on chapter 3. There's been some brain meltdowns lately but I'm fixing it. Lolz. Well anyways .... Here's the next chapter to Tough Love. I'm hoping to get more of the plot going into this chapter. And maybe it'll be longer if I don't get lazy.**

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Tough Love in D Minor

Chapter 3 - Rain

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"WHAT?!"

Renji sighed deeply as he and Ichigo leaned against the lockers. "You heard me, Ichigo." he said coldly. "She's going blind. Doctors say that something happened back then that's causing her vision to blur from time to time." The red head looked up at the ceiling lights before he continued. "It's just been getting worse every couple weeks. They don't know if they can fix it or not before she goes completely blind." Renji narrowed his eyes at him. "You shouldn't conscern yourself with this stuff."

Ichigo shook his head. "I may not know her very well, but I can't just stand around as if it's not happening." he scowled. "I don't give a damn if you don't want me there helping her or not."

He growled. "Ichigo, it's not your place. You don't know her like I do. Rukia doesn't want you finding out." Renji snapped as he shoved him slightly. "Just stand to the side and pray. That's all you can do for her right now." His eyes softened as their eyes met. "There's nothing anyone can do. Just pray that a miracle will occur."

"But-"

"But nothing! It's not worth wasting your breath on arguing with me." Renji's eyes hardened with anger and frustration once again. "Don't you think that I'm upset as well? Watching my best friend go blind isn't what I want." He turned his head away towards the door as voices of music students could be heard from the auditorium. "We'll talk about this later." he mumbled as he filed in with the lunch crowd.

Ichigo stood there as he watched him disappear into the mixture of people. "Renji ..." he muttered sympathetically as he shook his head.

"Is something wrong with Renji?"

He tensed as he felt a small presence besides him. Ichigo looked down at Rukia with wide eyes. "I didn't even notice you!" he exclaimed. Rukia smirked and nodded. "I'm sneaky. Now what's this about Renji?" A small frown formed on her lips. "Is he hurt? Did he get into a fight with Chad?" Her voice filled worry as she began throwing questions at him. He shook his head. "No ... Nothing's wrong with Renji." he ensured as he looked around. "Who's Chad?" She stopped her ranting as her eyes drifted down the hall. "That's him." Her small finger pointed towards a large dark guy listening to his Ipod in the corner. "That's Sado. Known as Chad."

Ichigo's eyes widened as he examined the tall frame of the guy. Dark hair that covered cold eyes, and an expressionless face .... The face of a fighter. "He's interesting looking." he fumbled with the words as he looked back down at the girl. "That piece you played ... What's it called? Um ... Furry Beast?"

"Fur Elise." she smiled as she with held a laugh. "Right. Fur Elise." he blushed slightly in embarassment. "It was great." Rukia's face brightened and she clasped her hands together. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." Her eyes drifted towards the clock in the far right corner. "Lunch is half way through. We should grab something to eat." she suggested as she pulled him down the hall by the hand.

Ichigo looked the hand that held his. It was so small compared to his larger one, yet it held such a strong grip. He grinned and shook his head. She was such a small girl but she had the grip of a street kid. He pondered for a second as they waited in the back of the line. "Hey, Rukia." he mumbled as he looked at the dark clouds overhead. Rukia didn't look at him as she began texting on her phone. "What?"

"How's your vision?" he said calmly as he watched her jerk slightly. She turned slowly as her expression changed. "My vision is just fine." she lied as she struggled to read the message on her phone. "Why do you ask?" Ichigo shook his head. "I just wanted to know." Rukia rolled her eyes. "What a pointless question." She sighed and walked up towards the counter to order.

She came back quickly and tossed him a curry bun. "Thanks." he frowned and sat down with her. "I'll pay you back for it." Rukia shook her head. "No. You don't need to pay me back for this." Ichigo growled. "I insist that I pay you back." Her eye twitched. "I'm telling you that you don't need to, you stubborn idiot." He glared down at her. "How are you so annoying when you're like a foot tall?!" he scoffed.

Rukia stuck her tongue out at him. "Shut up." she growled and took a giant bite out of her sandwich.

He chuckled and shook his head before finishing off his lunch. "I'll see you around, Rukia." he called as he walked back into the building. Rukia nodded. "Bye, Ichigo." she rubbed her eyes. In a desperate attempt to read the message from the doctor on her phone, she squinted hard. She could barely make out the words on the screen. They were jumbled and blurred. "Crap ..." she shook her head as she shoved her phone into her pocket and ran quickly into the building.

As she did, the phone beeped but she didn't bother to answer it. It beeped once again. She sighed as she stopped in the door and flipped open the phone to listen to the message being played. _"Rukia. It's Byakuya ... The doctors want to know if you got their message. Call back as soon as possible. They want you to consider the new treatment."_

Rukia shook her head. "It's all pointless to try anything ...." The doors shut behind her as her small form disappeared into the dark hallway. The sky thundered and the clouds seemed to burst with rain as each drop drenched the dirt. It was as if the sky was crying for her.

.x.

Ichigo stood outside of the building, his bookbag over his head in a desperate attempt to keep the rain off of him. "This is just fuckin' perfect." he snapped loudly.

Passing students gave him funny looks as they sped past him towards their Mercedes and BMWs. "What the hell are you looking at?" he growled at a small girl that happened to stare at him way too much.

Rukia shook her head as she walked up behind him and kicked him in the legs. "Don't be so mean to girls." she scolded as she opened the Chappy umbrella over them. Ichigo glared up at her as he regained his composure. "Look who's talking. You're the one who actually inflicted damage."

She ignored the comment as she slipped her music folder into her black tote bag. "Why aren't you going home?" she questioned as she noted the lack of students on campus. Ichigo shrugged. "My dad's supposed to pick me up. But apparently he's being held up at the hospital." he sighed. Rukia frowned and nodded. "I see ..."

Ichigo looked down at her and frowned. "And what about you?" he sighed. "Don't you have someone picking you up?" She nodded. "He's not here yet. He will though." Rukia looked at the watch on her right wrist. "Maybe in ten minutes perhaps."

She sighed loudly. "What's with the sudden down pour?" she commented as she looked at the large puddles surrounding them. He shrugged. "How the hell should I know?" he mumbled. He recieved a sharp slap to the back of the head. "It was a rhetorical question, dummy."

He snickered as he closed his eyes and leaned back against the pillar. Rukia stayed quiet as she watched the gray clouds cast a gloomy shadow over the two. "Don't you think that things that happen usually represent something?" she questioned. Ichigo cracked open one eye. "What do you mean?"

She smiled. "Like this rain. It's as though it's trying to symbolize sadness and sorrow of the world ... of someone's heart perhaps." He chuckled. "It sounds to sappy to me."

"It's not sappy."

"Is too."

"IS NOT!"

He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "You're ride is here." Rukia turned her attention towards the black ferrari that pulled into the front of the school. The window of the passenger's side rolled down to reveal a prim and proper Byakuya. "We're late, Rukia." he said quickly. "Sorry, nii-sama."

Rukia ran quickly towards the car, closing the umbrella as she did so. She pulled open the door and threw her stuff inside. "ICHIGO!!"

He looked at her with a small smile. "What?" She grinned. "It's not sappy! It's what brings music to life!" And with that, she slammed the door shut and they sped off. Ichigo chuckled. "Brings music to life, eh?"

He looked up at the sky as the rain drenched his uniform. "Rain ... It reminds me of tears." he laughed to himself. "I guess if I wrote a song about rain, it'd be sad."

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**Apparently, I didn't get it as long as I wanted it to be. I got tired and ran out of ideas. Hopefully the next chapter will come out faster and longer. Please favorite, alert, or review. Or do all three! Thank you to those who do.**


	4. A First Hand Encounter

**AUTHOR'S NOTE : I'm really glad that people like this story so I'll continue it. I got the whole idea of a school with general ed and music students from La Corda d' Oro. It's one of my favorite animes and manga. And with the whole blindness thingy, I thought that'd it'd be cute if a delinquent fell for a prodigy and her going blind seems suspenseful. I'm not sure if I'm making the blindness permanent or not so I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out. xD**

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Tough Love in D Minor

Chapter 4 - A First Hand Encounter

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"ICHIGO!!"

Ichigo bolted up from his bed as his dad's voice penetrated through his thin walls. "What the hell?! Can't a guy sleep in on his one day off?!" he growled. With a sigh, he pulled himself out of his bed and towards his closet. "ICHIGO!!" His father's voice rang once again. "WHAT?!" he snapped as he pulled on black t-shirt and a pair of ripped jeans. Isshin shoved his head through the crack in the door. "Karin and Yuzu have a school event going on today. I'll be chaperoning them, so you have the house to yourself today." he said quickly before shutting the door closed behind him.

"Che." he scoffed and ran a hand through his orange hair. "It's not like he has to tell me. He never does anyways."

_"... standing on the rooftops, everyone scream your heart out! This is how we get out ..."_

Ichigo turned to his ringing cellphone on his nightstand and snatched it up. "Hello?" he greeted quickly as he tugged on his jacket with one hand. "Ichigo. It's Renji." the voice on the other line said quickly over the loud noise of shouts. "Oh. Hey, Renji. What's up?" he frowned as insults could be heard over the receiver. "What's going on over there?" Ichigo could hear Renji chuckling from the other end,

"Nothing really. Just the usual." Renji chimed as he looked around the house. "Shut up, Shuuhei!!" he growled and threw the phonebook at the hysterical man. He turned his attention back towards the phone in his hand. "Do you have any plans today?"

Ichigo suppressed a yawn as he looked at the clock. "Nothing really." he paused to scratch his head. "I'm just going to chill at home."

A chuckle was heard from the other end of the line. "Ichigo ... You live such a boring life."

"HEY!"

Renji shook his head. "Nothing personal, man." He eyed the other two as they bickered. "Shuuhei and Ikkaku are getting bored over here. Want to come over?" Ichigo frowned. "I don't know ... This is like my personal day off from everything." He heard a scoff from Renji. "I have the new video game that everyone's been standing in line for."

He twitched slightly as his grip tightened on his cell. "I guess I'll go." he breathed as he hung up.

.x.

Renji heard the click and the dial tone from the other end and slide his phone shut. "Oi!" he growled as he turned around. "Stop messing around. You're gonna break something."

Ikkaku frowned at the redhead. "Come on. We're smart enough to know when we're going to break something." With a quick movement, he shoved Shuuhei out the way as he manuevered towards the couch.

"WOAH!!"

Renji and Ikkaku watched as Shuuhei fell backwards into the coffee table. The prominent vase of flowers that sat on it went flying off into the air as he did. "Oh crap ..." Ikkaku twitched as the vase came crashing down against the tiled floor of Renji's apartment.

"Oops." The duo turned their heads to look at Renji who appeared to have gone into a semi shock. "Renji?"

He came to quickly and his blank expression turned from melancholy to pissed off within a second. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU FUCKERS!!"

"Run, Shuuhei. RUN!!" Ikkaku shouted at the top of his lungs as he and Shuuhei took off for the front door. They pulled at the doorknob but it wouldn't budge. Renji came up behind them, and the cracking of his knuckles could be heard. "You're going to pay for that ..."

.x.

Ichigo stretched as he walked out the door of his house. "Can't believe I'm leaving the house ..." he mumbled as he turned the corner and began storming down the sidewalk with a scowl on his face.

As he walked, a sleek white limousine drove past him. It caught his eye as it drove past. "Why would someone in a limo be going through this area?" he mumbled and shook his head. Ichigo continued to walk down the sidewalk, making no notice as the limo haulted to a stop. The tinted window in the back of the vechicle rolled down and a small mess of raven black hair popped out of the opening. "ICHIGO!"

He turned his head as the familar face of a certain prodigy poked out of the limo. "Yo, Rukia." he waved a hand as he walked over towards her. "Going somewhere?" Rukia smiled. "Yeah." he nodded as he tried to see past her. Apparently someone else was in there with her. "Just going over to Renji's place." he shrugged.

Her face brightened as she popped open the door. "I'm heading over there too. Get in." she said and scooted over to make room. "Um ... I'm fine walking." Ichigo paled as the person besides her turned his head. _Oh crap ... Byakuya._He thought and gulped. "Kurosaki Ichigo ..." he noted. "Get into the car. Do you not have any manners to accept an offer from a young girl?" he questioned with cold narrow eyes. "I'll get in ..." he said quickly and scuffled into the limo.

Rukia laughed as she closed the door behind him. He sat down opposite of the two as his eyes ran over them. Apparently Byakuya was heading to a meeting. He was dressed from head to toe in an elegant suit and his hair was slicked back away from his face. Rukia on the other hand was wearing a blue dress that went to her knees. At the hem were little Chappies everywhere. To him, it made her look really cute.

Byakuya gave him a cold glare causing him to look away. "Kurosaki."

He turned his head towards him. "What?" he frowned. Byakuya narrowed his eyes. "A rude delinquent I see ..."

"Nii-sama!" Rukia frowned as she placed a hand on his forearm. "Don't speak to him in such a manner." He turned to her and frowned. "Rukia." he said in a cold commanding voice. "Watch what you say. You should know better." Her frown deepened as she released his arm and looked down at the carpet.

Ichigo scowled. "HEY!" he raised a fist. "You can't talk to your sister like that! That's unacceptable! What kind of a brother are you?!" He stood up abruptly, his head slamming into the roof of the limo. "And an idiot." Bykuya commented. "I will tell you the same thing I told Rukia. Delinquents like you should stay out of our way and out of Karakura Academy. It's not your place to tell me what I can or can do."

The limo came to a slow stop in front of the Seireitei Apartment buildings and the door opened. "I suggest you find a new place to get your education, Kurosaki." Rukia quickly shuffled out of the car and Ichigo followed. "I don't plan on it." he said as the door shut and the limo pulled away. "DAMN YOU BYAKUYA!!" he shouted and waved his middle finger in the air.

"Ichigo ..." Rukia frowned.

"Rukia." he turned to look at her. Before he could say another word, her foot made contact with his face. "What the hell, you midget!"

Rukia fumed as she stared up at the taller person. "How can you say such things to nii-sama?!" she scoffed and crossed her arms across her chest. "He's going to punish me for what you did."

"What I did?" Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "I didn't do a thing. You're brother's the one who started it!"

"Well you should have been polite and accepted my offer in the first place!"

"I was being considerate by not accepting!"

"How was rejecting a nice invitation considerate?!"

By now they were up in each other's faces, each with a personal scowl painted on their face. They were too busy bickering to notice that Renji was standing outside his apartment door. His hands were stuffed into his baggy jean pockets, and was wearing an old ripped t-shirt. "Oi ..." He frowned as he stuck a finger in his ear. "Oi!" he called again as they continued to bicker. This was just getting annoying to him. He already had to deal with Ikkaku and Shuuhei for the vase. The two were now somewhere in his apartment cowering in a corner, probably nursing their newly found bruises and cuts.

"OI!!!"

Their heads snapped towards him, eyes wide. "ARE YOU TWO GOING TO STAND OUTSIDE MY APARTMENT ALL DAY AND HAVE A LOVER'S SPAT OR ARE YOU GONNA COME IN?!" he snapped at them as he began walking back inside.

"We're not having a lover's spat!" Ichigo and Rukia exclaimed at the same time. Rukia frowned and shook her head before making eye contact with him. "Come on, Ichigo. Just admit it's your fault." She laughed and followed Renji inside.

Ichigo scowled. "It's not my fault!!!" He ran in after them. "Is too!"

"JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!!!!!!!!"

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**Sorry for the delay in the update, but here it is finally after probably a week or so. I lost track of time, but I'll try to update as much as possible. Please review and tell me what you think so far on this fanfic. I'm trying to make it better, and there will be more romance coming up soon. Getting a load of some musical action and a potential fight in the next chapter of Tough Love in D Minor. Stick with me, people!!**

**~ REVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEWREVIEW ~**


	5. Music in the Park

**AUTHOR'S NOTE : I guess I finally got to chapter 5 after a long delay. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Of course it took me forever to update. For that, I'm sorry. I got caught up in writing a new fanfiction. It really has nothing to do with this one but I was like, a twilight fanfic would be good right now. So yeah ... I spent my time on that. I already put up 3 new chapters today. 2 for my Bleach one, and the other for my Twilight. Well let's get onto the romance. Enjoy please!**

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Tough Love in D minor

Chapter 5 - Music in the Park

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Ichigo scowled as he sat at one end of the couch, Rukia sitting on the opposite side.

Renji scowled. "You two need to make up. You're ruining the atmosphere." Shuuhei and Ikkaku nodded as they nursed their wounds. Ichigo growled. "Only if she says sorry first."

Everyone paused as they heard a sniffle. Renji and Ichigo turned their heads towards Rukia at the end of the couch. Her eyes were wet and a long trail of tears were leaking onto her bag. "He's right ..." she sobbed theatrically. "It's all my fault! Nii - sama wouldn't have yelled if I didn't exist!"

Ichigo frowned and reached a hand out to her. "Rukia," he sighed. "I'm sorry ... It's not your fault ... Please don't cry." he begged as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Rukia sniffled slightly as she raised her to wipe the tears away. A small smirk formed on her lips. "GOTCHA!" she exclaimed and slapped him over the head. "I got you to apoligize."

"Why you -"

"You're forgiven."

Renji chuckled as he fell onto his back. "You actually fell for her lame performance?!" he howled before Rukia threw a pillow at him. "Shut up, Renji!"

Ichigo scowled and leaned back into the couch. "You're such an annoying elf." he mumbled. She glanced over at the clock and gasped. "Oh! We're late!" He raised an eyebrow. "Late for what?"

"You don't know?!"

"Nope."

She growled slightly. "We were all supposed to go to the festival being held in the park. I was supposed to meet Rangiku and Isane there." she jumped up grabbing her bag. "Let's go!"

Rukia bolted towards the door at full speed and pulled the door open. "Come on!" she called before disappearing around the corner. Ichigo glared at Renji as they stood up. "I thought I came to play that game." Renji smirked at him. "I just wanted you to come with us. Besides ... It would make her happy if you came." he admitted quietly. Ichigo looked to him and sighed. "Fine ..."

.x.

They arrived at the park's entrance to find two tall girls waiting by the gate. "Rangiku! Isane!" Rukia called and ran over towards them. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at them. Apparently they were music students as well. The taller of the two had grayish hair and was slightly shy looking, while the other one was curvy and quite busty.

The orange haired one with the boobs ran her eyes over Ichigo and walked over. "Who's this cutie, Rukia?" she asked quickly as she walked around him as if she were examining him. Rukia coughed. "That's Ichigo Kurosaki. He's a friend of mine and Renji." She nodded and waved over at Renji, Shuuhei, and Ikkaku before introducing herself.

"Kurosaki? Well I'm Rangiku Matsumoto." she smiled and latched onto him, her boobs crushing his arm. Ichigo flushed slightly as he looked away. "Nice to meet you, Rangiku ..."

The other approached slowly. "Hello ... My name's Isane Kotetsu." she greeted. "Pleasure to meet you. Rukia's always finding some way to talk to you." she commented. Rukia turned red as she grabbed Isane's arm. "ISANE!!!" she screeched and shook her.

They laughed as Matsumoto let go of him. "Let's get going before you have to go on, Rukia." Matsumoto smiled and took her petite hand in hers and pulled her towards the booths.

"They're ..."

"Unique." Renji finished for him as they stood next to him. "Rangiku's a vocalist like Momo. Some say that she's going out with that scumbag, Ichimaru."

"Ichimaru? Who the hell is he?" Ichigo questioned and looked at Renji. "He's a freshman at the local university. He's a violin major." He explained and then pointed to the other.

"Isane over there plays the clarinet. Her family's on the rich side, but she's really shy. She's got an annoying little sister in the general ed class."

He nodded as he looked over towards Rukia. "Does she always have such a busy schedule?"

Renji sighed. "Sadly, yes ... But she finds the time to have her free time. We better get going or we'll lose them." he motioned for them to follow the girls who were already moving further down.

Ichigo sighed and walked behind Rukia as they looked around. Rukia squealed out of the blue as a chappy booth caught her eye. She ran over towards the booth almost running over a couple of children. "Talk about bunny obsessed ...." he mumbled and followed her.

"It's so CUTE!!" she said as she picked up a chappy charm bracelet. She checked the price quickly and frowned. "What's up?" Ichigo questioned as he read the price from behind her. "It's not that much." he mumbled.

Rukia looked up at him. "I know that." she said, her grip tightening on the bracelet. "It's just that Nii-sama told me not buy anymore chappy things." she sighed and placed it down on the table. She walked away back towards Matsumoto and Isane, and Ichigo pondered. _It's not that much ..._ He thought and picked up the bracelet.

"I'll take it." he said and slapped down the bills and hurried over. "Rukia." he said quickly. She looked up at him, looking confused. "What is it, Ichigo?"

"Give me your hand." he said and snatched it quickly. He slid the bracelet over her hand and onto her wrist and smiled. "There you go. You didn't buy it, so he can't object, right?" he grinned.

Rukia blinked a couple of times before looking up at him. "Thank you ..." she smiled softly.

"AW!! How cute!!" Matsumoto cried out as she clenched Isane's hand. "I told you it'd be romantic, didn't I?" Ichigo laughed and shook his head. "You should be going on now." he told her and let go.

She nodded. "Yeah ... I should." she said and ran quickly towards the black grand piano that sat on the podium in the middle of the park. The speaker turned on quickly and a deep voice erupted from it. **"Attention! Rukia Kuchiki will be playing a classical piece in the middle of the park! If you would like to view, head over there now!"** it said.

Ichigo pushed his way towards the front as the music started. The tune was so beautiful to him. The rhythm and sound was right on, and it echoed through the silent area. He saw the smile that was on her lips, and smiled. She was happy playing the piano, and he was happy that she was happy.

Her fingers glided over the keys until the end of the song. She stood up and bowed to the audience as she squinted into the crowd trying to make out the figures that were here friends.

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**I'm sorry for the late delay and how short it was. In my opinion, this one was okay. It wasn't as good as I wished it would be but I just had to update through my writer's block for this. Hopefully you enjoyed it still though. Please REVIEW!**


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